Didn't realize IA was the owner of Torque now (when did GG disappear?) but I've before in the past that the number of (various kinds of) *Torque* users was pretty big. From that I don't think they'd be at a big loss.

I remember IA starting as a web-based games website where the games were made in Torque. So I would really have to wonder if the web aspect of IA died, and they're looking to just sell to someone else because of that?

The commercial game engine landscape has changed a lot in the last couple of years. My guess is that Unreal is smashing the competition to bits. Even id is out of the engine licensing business. Seems like Unreal and Unity are the last two standing. It is interesting to me that Unreal now caters to indie and pro alike (I wonder how much of that was influenced by Unity?). Only a few years ago, it took like an up-front guarantee of over a quarter million per title on 10% royalties to get access to that kind of technology. Now anyone can get rolling for free.

My prognostication is that in this new environment, Torque cannot survive.

The community is quite active, and even got a boost on IRC with these recent news

Torque (the company) might be gone. Torque (the technology) is being shown to potential buyers. The engines have a chance of living on. I wouldn't say there are exact competitors to any of them, though. One of their major selling points is source (for a low, low price). I've also found nothing matching TGB, so I consider that their crown jewel

This closing has nothing to do with Unity, according to the insiders. It's simply the owners bleeding money on their OTHER big venture, Instant Action. Many saw it coming, but the closing down was rather abrupt. Torque (the company) was cash-positive!

GarageGames/Torque change: Some employees of the GarageGames era left, the founders sold it to IAC, but some original employees were still around. There was new blood too, and many excellent individuals among them. GG was renamed to Torque, the site became TorquePowered.com. I really got a feeling they were improving the engines I followed most closely, and the closing down left us hanging while waiting for some crucial updates. They're trying their best to get them out to us anyway.

IA and Torque are/were two separate entities owned by IAC (yes, confusing names). IAC wanted GG for their tech. I suspect IAC didn't have a clue about the market they entered, which would be evident in the way they managed the InstantAction site. All I remember of it was a "coming soon" page